From This Window

Blurb: Agoraphobic Lucas Davidson spends his days watching people from his window, taking detailed notes of what he thinks their lives are like. Occasionally he’ll go downstairs to the Da Vinci Café and fulfill his quota for human contact. That’s where part-time clerk Jeremy Roberts meets him. Lucas intrigues him, so Jeremy coerces him into attending a Christmas Eve party, and one night of fun turns in to a morning of choices. Can Lucas accept the colorful world Jeremy shows him, or do his introverted issues run too deep for anyone to help him?

A story from the Dreamspinner Press 2013 Advent Calendar package “Heartwarming”.

Review:

Nina: A brief view into two men’s beginning with the hope for more. For healing, for change, for purpose and balance, for love. The beginning of possibility. Choices have to be made by both men.

I really appreciated the deft handling of some very serious issues in this story. I liked that there was also humor, fun, holiday revelry and the lightest touch of sexy heat between the men.

I was rooting for Lucas to allow Jeremy to pull him back into life. I loved that it was up to Lucas and that he wasn’t immediately fixed. I enjoyed the photography elements and what they lent to the story.

A diverse addition to the Heartwarming Advent Calendar.

Beans: The Advent anthology this year is all about heartwarming comfort. This novella was a fine example of it.

Lucas is broken. He is self-confined to his home and the coffee shop under his apartment. His pain is beautifully written and although his behavior isn’t kind or compassionate, we see the why behind it and I feel for him. I grieved for his loneliness.

Jeremy is a fun, vibrant young man who not only has caught Lucas’s notice but also takes care of him as much as he is able. I love that it’s mostly by paying attention. He pushes Lucas, and pulls him to a party. The way that Jeremy was able to both comfort and lead Lucas but also allow him his feet was well done.

This story is short. It will fly by. But sometimes its the short works that are the best. I enjoyed every word.